As parents, adoptive or biological, we sometimes flounder. We get caught up in what is trendy parenting, what advice we get from family and friends, and what we feel in our gut. The combination sometimes …

My sister is adopted, have I mentioned that before?

She was adopted through a private adoption, arranged before her birth, by my dad and step mom. That was the summer of 1993. I wasn’t 18 yet.
I …

Two Fridays ago, as I dropped off yet another immigration packet update at our agency, I stumbled into an adoption placement. The director of my agency and I shared smiles during the paperwork hand-off as a young couple became parents for the first time, just a few feet from me. During my brief, two-minute visit, I watched the faces of those standing in the room, so filled with joy and hope, absolutely awe-struck while gazing at this three-month-old infant.

As  I was getting ready to write this, I pulled our copy of our adoption profile book out and started thumbing through it. My four year old, Macey, came up to me and said, “What’s …

Ever wonder about those Dear Birthmother letters you see all over the internet?
Ever wonder what they might be like if complete honesty was present?
I did.
So I present Forrest and Kelly, a hopeful adoptive couple, with …

When a parent from the China-adoption community says…

* I chose China because I don’t want to have to deal with birthparents at all.
* Adult adoptees who talk about the negative sides of adoption are just angry and ungrateful.
* It’s okay to talk poorly about the country of China because my child is American now anyway.

As technology has progressed, so has our contact. For the past 18 months or so, I’d say about 75% of our contact has been via text messages. We tend to meet in person about every other month. It’s a low stress, low pressure sort of affair.

I purposely didn’t use the word adoption so that the child can interpret the story at his/her own pace in a way that they are ready for. A parent reading this story with their child could discuss the theme with their child to see what their understanding of their adoption is and discuss it from there.

May 8th is Parent’s Day (어버이 날) in South Korea. The Korean’s celebrate the parent’s as a whole, instead of a separate day for mother’s and father’s. The children make paper carnations for the parents, who wear them that day. The children also get a gift for their parents. The children also sing a song to the parents.